Weightlifting/ Workout

[SMZ2]

Okay I can do that! Time to find a spotter!

[Dwn4BassAlan]

Was that seriously you squatting??

.no that was a joke. I'm Puerto Rican. Lol

Oh thank god, I was being as reserved as possible because I didn't want to be a total dick by saying what I truly thought was a pitiful attempt at squatting, all while making himself look like a jackass at the same time by almost snapping his spine in the process................

So question for some of you guys: I've been lifting on and off for a couple years but have been back in the gym intensely since september. Recently when I do a chest workout I find that my shoulders seem to be taking over for a lot of the lifts and I have trouble getting a deep chest burn before my shoulders get tired and I lose strength on my lifts. The problem is not that my shoulders are too weak, if anything, they are comparatively too strong and that might be why they are taking over?

Any thoughts or lifts you can think of that might help?

Yea the shoulders are a bigger part of the bench than most people seem to realize, but for you, (you may or may not already do this just putting it out there) I'd suggest keeping you arms at a nice 45o angle from your body. I had the same problem before when my shoulders felt like they were the only muscle doing anything but it was because I was trying to life more than I could and relying on the shoulders to do it for me so I had a straight 180o degree T-form going with my arms which takes the progress from the chest and puts all the stress on your shoulders. I fixed it with fixing my form, keeping the elbows closer to the body, NOT pushing "towards the rack" (like half the football coaches teach players to do), and making damn sure the bar hit my chest with absolutely 0-bounce. Hopefully something here helps.

[wellington]

I can do about 20 pushups right now. haven't worked out in a long time. but getting into it again. no work right now, so I need a hobby.

[shogen]

To raise your bench quickly, train the lift, not your chest.

This is a very effective program http://www.timinverm...ss/benchpgm.htm

I've got a couple more, but I like this one.

Stang,

So I did my 1RM today..... Now I know you include the bar in your calculation of weight but I don't know if the bar at my gym is 35 or 45 lbs.... I did 2 - 45lbs plates on each side so would that be 215lbs or 225lbs??? Either way it felt great!! Although I felt a little discomfort in my elbow afterwards... Didn't touch my chest or anything/over-extend I don't think....

I took 4 days off doing any chest exercises even though the guide stated about 48hrs rest from chest exercise before doing the 1RM cuz I was still a bit sore from my previous workouts ...

I also think I could've done another 10-20lbs if I had a spotter.... Was about to ask one of the guys working out near me but then I saw them spotting each other and it looked like they didn't know what they were doing so I did a "safe" 1RM I guess you could say...

So now my workout routine should follow:

# 1 Date_________ 1 @ _______ X 6 2 @ _______ X 5 2 @ _______ X 4

Only thing I can't figure out or missed somehow is, do I keep doing workout #1 for more than one day, one week... I figured I would do the workout for at least a week then test for my 1RM again and then move to workout #2 .... Seems like that's what the guide was telling....

[OrionStang]

Yes you count the bar, two 45's per side is 225, standard bar weight is 45lbs.

Did you download the spreadsheet showing all the weights to use? Using 225 as your max, you would use 175, 185, and 195 for A, B, and C respectively.

Workout 2, you would use 195, 210, 230(neg).

You do each workout only once, and every couple weeks you will retest to see if you need to adjust the 1rm you use to determine the weights you use from the table.

Two chest workouts a week, like monday and thursday. Your first retest is workout 5, so you can plug in all your weights for the first 5 workouts(2 1/2 weeks) now.

Note: Don't worry if you felt like you could have maxed more, you will going up like 5-10 lbs every couple weeks. It will be very heavy soon if you stick with it. You will need a spotter LOL.

[shogen]

Lol. I know I'll need one. So I do workout #1 say Tuesday and the #2 Thursday. And keep going along the line? 1 day per workout? Just wanna make sure.

[OrionStang]

One day per.

[shogen]

One day per.

Ok. Thanks again. Hoping this works out well. I'm.gonna be recording my results finally. See if it helps me through my plateau. :-)

[SMZ2]

I'm not sure if should start the same program that shogun is doing or try the 5x5 lift again... which one is more effective and I've been trying to find a spot for my 1 rep max if I go with the program I'll probably just ask somebody at the gym to spot me

[shogen]

I'm not sure if should start the same program that shogun is doing or try the 5x5 lift again... which one is more effective and I've been trying to find a spot for my 1 rep max if I go with the program I'll probably just ask somebody at the gym to spot me

The 5x5 might be more effective when you know your max and do this program... The way I see it is you could use the 5x5 in between this program... They recommend only lifting 80% of your heaviest weight in between..... So it would end up being a pretty epic combo .... But it's just the way I see it....